Deep well pump



Sept.I 4, 1945. ID. JOHNSTON DEEP wELL- PUMP Filed Oct. 27, 1943 Patented Sept. 4, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT .f OFFICE DEEP WELL'PUMP Douglas Johnston, Shelbyville, Ill.

Application October 27, 1943, Serial No. 507,816

(ci. a-4s) i tween the housing and the cylinder 25, indicated 11 Claims.

The present invention relates to a deep well pump.

It is an object of the'invention'to provide a pump in Whichthe-string to contain the column of uid being pumped, and a single relatively smallpresvsure line, comprise all of the mechanism necessary to be strung down the well casing, be-

nism per-se.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pump of this kind,"wherein the actuation of a remote pumping device is controlled 'by a fluid displacing mechanism at the surface, acting upon the column of pumped nuid. A further object is to provide a simple pumping mechanism,

adaptedto fbe located at the bottom of a well,

the usual manner in a well, which may be an oil well or a water well, orv the like. 'I'he ensuing tween the mouthof the well and the pump mechadescription will be made in connection with a4 deep oil well, althougnclearly the pump is a'pplicable to any like iluid at any depth. The casing I0 has a head II secured thereto. A well string I2 extends through the head II and connects with a T I3. This T receives a connection I4, through which extends a high pressure air line I5 that extendsdown through the well string I2. The other branch of the T I3 extends into a displacing mechanism, generally indicated at I6.

The well string I2, 'made up of the necessary number of units, depending upon vthe depth of the well, is connected at its bottom to a pump `housing I8. This, in turn, at its ylower end, is connected Vby a connector I9 to a smaller secondary lpump housing 20 that fits into the liquid-containing zone of the well through the medium .of a tip 2I connected thereto by 'a valve containing union 22. The tip ZI has the usual ports 23 through which the liquid being pumped may ow.

'Ihe upper pump housing contains a sleeve or i cylinder 25 attached to the upper edge of the con- Qnector I 3. 'I'his provides anrannular space/ibeat a. The cylinderV 25 is sealed at its upper end at 26 and receives the en d of the pressure tube I5, which thereby opens into rthe upper end of the cylinder. y

The sleeve likew'ise contains a reciprocable piston 2l secured to a piston rod 28 that extends Y through the connector I9 into the secondary pump housing 20. At its lower end the piston rod 28 is secured to a ported member 29 that. in turn, is attached to a second piston 30. The piston 30 is provided with an axial bore II, the upper end of which flares to provide a valve seat against which a ball valve 32 may seat in sealing relation to prevent the ow of liquid downward through the ported mem-ber 29 into the passage 3l. The area between the pistons 2l and 38, and bounded by the cylinders 25 and 20, is designated'as pumping chamber c.

The connector member 22 at the bottom of the secondary'pump housing 28 has avalve seat sleeve 33 that receives a ball valve 34 that seats thereon to prevent the flow of liquid downwardly from the The space vbeneath nated as intake chamber d.

The cylinder 25 has ports 38 that provide communication between the pumping chamber c and the area a.

A check valve port y3l leads from the pumping chamber c past a ball check valve 38 into the space a.

A float valve 40 at the .top of the pump mechanism, within the compression chamber b, is operated :by a float 4I pivoted at 42 to the cap 28. The valve 40 controls an outlet line 43 that extends within the pump housing I8 and communicates through a port 44 with the interior of the well casing I0 outside of the Secondary pump housing or cylinder 20.

The displacing mechanism I6 includes a valve housing generally indicated at 41. This valve housing has a central cylindrical bore 48 therein. This bore 48 terminates at one end in an inlet 49,

a packing gland, through which a displacement lplunger 52 reciprocates. A power driven arm 53 is secured to the plunger 52 to reciprocate it.

Within the bore 48 slides a valve lblock 54, movi'ng between the shoulder, -between the bore and the inlet 49, and the projection on the insert 5I). The space within the bore 48 and the extension 5I to the right of the valve 54 is designated` The valve housing 41 also contains a principal outlet 58, that opens into the bore 39 to the left of the compression by-pass.l This outlet is closed by the valve 54 -in the position of the drawing. As the valve moves to theright, it first closes the by-pass 56, and then opens the outlet 58 to communication with the inlet 49. The sequence is the reverse of this when the valve 54 moves to the left.

The valve housing 41 further contains a refilling port 59 that connects the outlet 58 with the displacement chamber 48, connecting into the latter at a point to the right of the valve 54 when the latter is in its right position. This refilling port 59 is controlled by a ball check valve 60 that permits ow from the outlet 58 to the displacement chamber 55, but preventsreverse flow.

The outlet 59 may be connected to whatever is to receive the oil, such as a reservoir.

Operation With the string disposed in the casing I so that the tip extends into the oilvcontaining part of the well, an oil level may build up within the casing to some point such as L. The line I is connected to a source of high pressure air. This pressure must be greater than the unit pressure exerted by a column of oil acting within the pump string. The connecting device is started by operating the rod 53 in to and out of the displacement chamber 55 by suitable motor.

The string l2, the pump housing I8, and the pumping chamber c will be filled with oil. The displacement chamber 55 is also filled with oil, with the plunger- 52 withdrawn. The foregoing oil, at the start, may be lled into these parts, or may flow back from the reservoir into them. Flow back is always permitted when the valve 54 is in either extreme position, as the port 58 may be directly connected to the inlet 49, or may be indirectly connected through the ports 59 and 58. After the pump has been in operation, these parts will be kept filled automatically.

The plunger 52, moving into the oil in the displacement chamber 55, forces displacement thereof. As the check valve 80 closes the port 59, the pressure added by the plunger 52 causes the valve 54 to move to the left. This first cuts off the outlet 58, then opens the by-pass 56, permitting the oil to be forced past the check valve and into the string I2, the chamber a, and the pumping chamber c.

The condition when the mechanism is in the position of Fig. 1, therefore, is that pressure within the pump at the bottom of the well consists of air pressure acting to lower the piston 21, the previously described pressure of the column of oil acting within the pumping chamber c dinerening chamber c is greater than the air pressure acting downwardly invthe compression chamber b, so that both pistons are raised. As a result of the foregoing, the mechanism, as shown in Fig. 1,- v

has the pistons in their upper positions with a high oil pressure acting throughout the string. This high pressure acts upon both ends of the valve block 54.

The ascent of the lower piston 30 produces a low pressure within the intake chamber d, and oil is drawn in through the tip ports 23, past the check valve 34, into the chamber. 'I'he oil at high pressure above the piston 30 is prevented from escape to beneath the piston by the check valve 32.

When the plunger 52 is withdrawn, or is relieved of its force displacing it inwardly, the pressure within the displacement chamber 55 is lowered. The check valve 51 prevents escape of oil from the string with the valve block 54 to the left, so that the high pressure continues to act upon the left end of the valve block. As noted hereafter, this force may include a component due to swelling of the tubes.

This reduction of pressure on the right end of the valve block 54, accompanied by maintenance of pressure on the left end thereof, causes the valve block 54 to be moved to the right. This rst cuts on' the port 55, and thereafter opens the outlet port 58, the valve block coming to rest against the extension on the insert 50, sc. that the port 59 is held open. When theport 58 is opened, the high pressure on the oil column is relieved, and becomes lower than the constant pressure acting upon the top of the piston 21 and produced by the air. Thereupon, the piston 21 is forced down, carrying with it the piston 30. As the piston 38 moves down, the oil in the intake chamber d is forced through the port 3| past the check valve 32 and into the pumping chamber c. This oil constitutes the new charge of oil introduced on each pump stroke. It may be assumed that the piston 30, in effect, merely moves through oil, so that its descent does not substantially enlarge the capacity of its pumping chamber c. Hence the pumping chamber is greatly reduced in size by the descent of the piston 21, forcing oil out through the ports 36 from the pumping chamber c into the space a and the string, This oil nally finds its way `through the valve mechanism I6 into the outlet 58.

Upon thenext inward stroke of the plunger 52, the-valve 54 is shifted, and oil is again forced into' the pumping chamber c, lifting the piston. However, the new charge of oil, previously entrapped above the piston 30, also contributes to the oil in the pumping chamber. The result is that on each downward stroke of the piston 21- an amount of oil is forced out of the chamberr c equal to the-'sum of the amount added by the plunger 52 and that entrapped by the piston 30. The net gain per stroke is thev amount 'of oil entrapped by the piston 30.

It will be seen that the displacement chamber may always be refilled through the port 59, from the outlet 58. When the plunger 52 is withdrawn, it will draw refilling oil-past the check valve 60. During the displacement of the 'valve 54 on compression stroke, it closes the outlet port 58 before opening the by-pass 56,l thus preventing relief of the compression pressure through the outlet. Upon reverse movement, thel valve 54 closes the by-pass before opening the outlet, thus preventing loss oi' high pressure before the valve has completely shifted, and assuring refilling ofi-the entire valve mechanism, for a subsequent stroke. Further, if the pressures employed cause swelling of the tubing, the first result of rightward displacement of the valve l will be to relieve this pressure in the tubes, permitting them to contract to normal position` Preferably the space between the left end of the valve M in leftmost position, and that end when it opens the outlet II, is sufiiciently large to absorb the oil displaced thus by the contracting tubes. Therefore, the oil elected upon opening of the outlet Il will not spurt out at high velocity, but will flow at the velocity determined by the air pressure. By this means the force of the contracting of the tubing will move the valve N rapidly enough to maintain a relatively high pressure in the displacement chamber 55, accelerating the plunger I2 on the return or withdrawal stroke, and providing energy that may be stored in a flywheel for a subsequent displacement stroke.

The check valve 3l acts to permit the oil under pressure in the string to enter the pumping chamber c to lift the piston 21, even if the piston moves down so that it closes of! the ports v3B. Further, as the piston 21 descends and closes oil.' the ports 3l, the gradual constriction of these ports decelerates the piston so as to prevent too great an impact thereof against the elements limiting the descent. The presence of the check valve Il prevents escape of this resisting presy sure, while permitting the reverse ilow asabove.

The' float valve lil is opened by any oil that may leak past the piston 21 as soon 'as such oil reaches a critical level. It is thus prevented from passing up the air line I6, or from restricting pression chamber b is preferably made large enough to preventpressure fluctuations of more than 3% when the piston 21 moves from one extreme to thev other.

In some installations, a spring may be employed in place of air pressure. This is particularly true in shallower pumps, such as home well pumps. Such a modification is shown in Fig. 3, wherein the housing I8, the cylinder 25, the cap 26, and the piston 21 appear as before. However, a spring 65 is employed between the cap 2! and the piston 21 to apply the fixed force greater than that due to the hydrostatic pressure opposing the piston 21, but less than the total pressure built up when the plunger 52is driven inwardly. A drain tube ll connects through the cap 2B to open to atmospheric pressure in the casing above the fluid level and prevents building up of excess pressure within the spring chamber. It also will carry oft excess liquid that leaks past the piston 21.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for pumping liquid from a supply against'the pressure of a column of the liquid being pumped, comprising a pair of adjacent, differently-sized cylinders at the bottom of the column, a piston in each cylinder, the pistons being connected for movement together, the cylinders and pistons forming a pumping chamber between them, a constant pressure means acting on the pistons to drive them in one direction to reduce the size of the pumping chamber, an outlet between the pumping chamber and the column, to introduce column pressure to urge the pistons against the constant pressure. the `column pressure producing greater force upon the large piston than the small one. valve means associated with the smaller piston to provide an intake chamber, said valve means being check valves to entrap liquid from the supply into the intake chamber upon movement of the pistons by the column pressure, and to expel the entrapped liquid into the pumping chamber upon movement of the pistons by the constant pressure, whereby the cycling of the pistons introduces a new charge of liquid into the pumping chamber eachcycle and pumps an equivalent amount into the column,.

Y sure and free the column from isolation whereby the constant pressure may pump the liquid of the column.

2. A pumping apparatus for lifting liquid from a. supply against the pressure of the column being lifted, including a pumping mechanism located at the bottom of the column,having pumping means actuated by increase and decrease of the pressures of the column of the liquid, above and below an opposing pressure, and means locatable above the bottom of the column for effecting increase and decrease of column pressures, comprising a valve housing with an inlet connecting into the column, an outlet from the housing, a valve member, a displacement chamber in communication with the liquid column, and a displacement member movable in to and out of the displacement chamber to change the size thereof, means admitting liquid to the displacement chamber, said displacement member, upon movement into the chamber, being adapted to operate the valve to cut the o`utlet oil' from the inlet, and to apply a pressure to the liquid in the column to actuate the pumping mechanism.

3. A pumping apparatus for lifting liquid from a supply against the pressure of the column being lifted, including a pumping mechanism located at the bottom of the column, having pumping means actuated by increase and decrease of the pressures of the column of the liquid, above and below an opposing pressure, and means locatable above the bottom of the column for effecting increase and decrease of column pressures, comprising a valve housing with an inlet connecting into the column, an outlet from the housing, a valve member, a displacement chamber, a displacement member movable inwardly and outwardly of the chamber to vary the size thereof, a passage adapted to connect'the chamber and the liquid column, the valve being movable from a ilrst position in which the inlet and outlet are in communication with the passage cut off, to a second position wherein the outlet is cut oil and the inlet and passage are in communication, the valve being adapted to be moved from its rst to its second position when the displacement member is moved inward.

4. A pumping apparatus for lifting liquid from a supply against the pressure of the column being lifted, including a pumping mechanism located at the bottom o! the column, having pumping means actuated by increase anddecrease of the pressures of the column of the liquid, above and below an bottom of the column for effecting increase and decrease of column pressures, comprising a valve housing with an inlet connecting into the column, an outlet from the housing, a valve member, a

. opposing pressure, and means locatable above the Y displacement chamber, a displacement member inlet and outlet are in communication with the passage cut off, to a second position wherein the outlet is cut off and the inlet and passage are incommunication, thev valve having a surface exposed to column pressure and an opposite surface exposed to displacement chamber pressure, and a check valve in the passage preventing ow from the column through the passage, the valve being adapted to be moved from its rst position toward its second upon inward movement of the `displacement member, and theV outlet and passage being disposed so that the outlet is cut off before the passage is opened.

5. A pumping apparatus for lifting liquid from a supply against the pressure of the column being lifted, including a pumpingV mechanism located at the bottom of the column, having pumping means actuated by increase and decrease of the pressures of the column of the liquidyabove and below an opposing pressure, and means locatable above the bottom of the column for `effecting increase and decrease of column pressures, comprising a valve housing with an inlet connecting into the column,

an outlet from the housing, a valve member. a displacement chambery a displacement member movable inwardly and outwardly of the chamber to vary the size thereoLa passage adapted to connect the chamber and the liquid column, the valve being movable from a first position in which the inlet and outlet are in communication with the passage cut oil, to a second position wherein the outlet is cut off and the inlet and passage are in communication, the valve having a surfaceexposed to column pressure and an opposite surface exposed to displacement chamber pressure, anda check valve in the passage preventing flow from-the column through the passage, the valve being adapted to be moved from its rst position toward vits second upon inward movement of the displacement memv ber,` andzthe outlet and passage being disposedso' that the "outlet is cut oil before the passage i's opened, a second passage between the outletand the displacement chamber, and a check valve therein to prevent flow of liquid from the displacement chamber to the outlet. I

6.2A pumping apparatus for lifting liquid.v from? a supply against the pressure of the column being lifted, including a pumping mechanism 1ocated at the bottom of the column, having pumpingmeans actuated by increase and decrease of the pressures of the column of the liquid, above and below an opposing pressure, and means locatable above the bottom of the column for effecting increase and decrease of column pressures, comprising a valve housing with an inlet connectinglinto the column, an outlet from the housing, avalve member, a displacement chamber, a displacement member movable inwardlyA and outwardly of the chamber to vary the size thereof, a passage adapted to connect the chamber and the liquid column, the valve being movable from a rst position in which the inlet and outlet are in communication with the passage Vaaetdva cut off, to a second position wherein the outlet is cut oirv and the inlet andpassage .are in communication, the valve having va surface exposedv to column `pressure and an opposite surface"ex'"' posed to displacement chamberpressuref anda check valve inthe passage preventing .now from j the column through the passage, the Lvalve being adapted to be moved from its first positiontoward its second upon inward movement of "the displacement member", and the outlet and passage being disposed so that the outlet is cut off .i before the passage is opened, the distance the valve must move from second position before i opening theoutlet being sufllcient to lreduce, at

least substantially, the pressure of swelling of the parts containing the liquid under pressure.

7. In a pumping mechanism Yfor raisinga column of liquid from a supply, differently-sized cylinders, interconnected' pistons in the cylinders, said cylinders and Ypistons `forming a pumping chamber between the pistons,v means establish` ingva substantially constant pressure action to move the pistons in one direction, an outletfor connecting the pumpingchamber with the column, means to increase'and decrease the pressure on the column'of liquid in ,such manner as.

to cause the pistons to be reciprocated, means for placing a new charge of liquid in the chamber from the supply upon each cycle of movement of the pistons, and means for returning to the supy ply liquid which may leak past the larger piston from the pumping chamber.

8. In a pumping mechanism for 'raising a column of liquid from a supply, differently-sized lcylinders, interconnected pistons in the cylinders, said cylinders and pistons forming a pump-A ingchamber between the pistons, means establishing a substantially constant pressure action z on one of the pistons to move the pistons in one direction, an outlet for connecting the pumping chamber with the column, means to increase and decrease the pressure on the column of liquid in such manner as to cause the pistons to'be reciprocated, means for placing'a new charge of liquid in theV chamber Vfrom the supply upon each cycle of movement of the pistons, and means preventing the entrapment of liquid in the cyl; inder at that side'of the larger piston opposite the pumping chamber in the event of leakage past saidrpiston from the pumping chamber.

9. In a pumping mechanism for raising a col- 'umn o1' liquid from a supply, differently-sized cylinders, interconnected pistonsrin the cylinders, said cylinders and pistons forming a pumping chamber between the pistons, means for `maintaining a substantiallyconstant pneumatic pressure inthe larger cylinder behind the large! piston so as to be effective on said piston to move both pistons inv one direction, an outlet for connecting the pumping chamber 'with the column,

means to increase and decrease the pressure in 'fthe column of liquid in such manner as to cause the pistons to be reciprocated, means for placing 'anew charge of liquid into the chamberfrom `the supply upon each cycle of movement of the pistons, means for placing the portion of the larger cylinder behindthe piston therein incomymunication with the supply, and valve means for controlling said communication so as to permit liquid which leaks past the larger piston to return to supply, said last-named valve means including a float for moving the valve vto open position.'

10. In an apparatus for operating a sub-surface pumping mechanism located at the bottom 'ber and to be opened during operation of the displacement member out of the chamber.

11. In an apparatus for operating a sub-surcrease of the pressures of the column, a housing member having a displacement chamber connected to the column, a dlsplaceable member movable into and out of the chamber to vary the volume thereof, an outlet providing a pressure ,relieving and liquid discharge means, valve means for controllingthe outlet and arranged to be maintained closed when the displacement member is moved inwardly. to decrease the volume of the chamber and apply pressure to the liquid column and to be open when the displacement member is moved outwardly to increase the volume of the chamber, and means admittingv liquid to the chamber during the outward moveface pumping mechanism located at the bottom l5 ment of the member. of a column of liquid to be lifted and having pumping means actuated by increase and de- DOUGLAS JOHNSTON. 

